When All Is Lost
by charlie009d
Summary: When all is lost, who will be there to pick up the pieces? When America falls, the last of its citizens try to piece it back together.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello! Before you start reading this story, I gotta clear a few things up. First, I did not write this story. The real charlie009d wrote it and I type and post stories for her because she doesn't have access to a computer. Second, yes, I do explain that at the beginning of every story, and it gets kinda boring after a while. So, basically I'm Charlie's Typing Monkey...yeah, that's pretty much my official title._

_So if you have found your way to this story: Congrats on being awesome! I hope you enjoy the story. Now...READ ON!_

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><p>It started in Pennsylvania of all places. A young man by the name of Justin had broken out of prison. No one had paid it any mind, until he went on a murdering spree. He was suddenly a celebrity. Many government agencies were after him.<p>

He had somehow forced his way into Washington D.C. Before anyone could react, he had taken the President hostage. By that time, there was nothing anyone could do. Justin had control of the United States. He gave the citizens a choice: join him and do his biddings or be killed. Few joined him, but one person who did was NCIS Director Leon Vance, who soon became his right hand man.

Anthony DiNozzo, Jr. gazed at the Washington Monument in wonder. After all that had happened, it still stood tall. It was a reminder of what life had been like before the chaos started. It was the only thing in D.C. that hadn't been bombed. Well, other than the White House. That was where Justin lived.

The sky was no longer blue, but a dark red with ugly black clouds hanging in it like moss hanging off the side of a cliff. All of the water was polluted. It had to be coiled before it could be drunk. Food was very hard to come by. Most people had to get by on eating garbage. Dead bodies lay in the streets. Most had been killed by the bombings, but the rest had been killed by sickness, hunger, suicide, or murder.

Murder was, in a strange way, a normal thing then. It was a way of life. It happened and no one thought anything of it anymore. Tony could remember killing at least three people since the beginning of the chaos. The first one he had killed because he was trying to kill him. The second because she had tried to steal his food, and the third he killed because he had been stealing their food.

Tony tried not to look at the destroyed NCIS building as he walked past it. He had been lucky, he had been on his lunch break when the building was bombed. His coworkers hadn't been so lucky. They were gone, every last one of them.

He turned down an alley and found a fresh stiff in his was. The dead man couldn't have been older than thirty. He had long dirty hair like most people did, but he had a handsome face that could win any woman over. He wore a nice leather coat and holey jeans.

Tony ruffled through his large pocket and took out his knife. His boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, had given it to him when he first began to work at NCIS. It was his most prized possession, not only because the person who had given it to him was dead, but because it was his most useful survival tool.

Tony cut the man's throat to make sure he was dead before he went through his pockets. He had seen too many people killed because they had been jumped by another person pretending to be a dead body. Tony found a box of raisins in the stiff's pocket and he felt like he won the lottery. He would feast that night.

He continued down the alley, ignoring the rotting corpses. He stopped when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. There, sitting on top of a trash can, was a newborn baby. It whimpered and made a strange gurgling sound. Tony knew the poor thing wasn't going to make it. He turned and threw up the contents of his empty stomach. As he walked away, he heard it take a shuddering breath and then fall silent. He knew it was gone.

Farther down the road he heard the sound of footsteps. Tony threw himself onto the ground, feigning death. He watched as an old man walked past him without giving him a second glance. The man wore a long trench coat and a fedora hat. His face wasn't visible. He walked with a hunched back and a bad limp.

Tony slowly twirled the knife in his hand. Killing the old man would be a mercy kill, the new world wasn't meant for the old and weak. Maybe if he killed the man, he would find some food in his pockets. Tony decided to murder him.

He slowly stood up and silently crept toward the limping man. Tony raised his knife high above his head. He almost though lightning would flash across the sky like something from a movie, but it didn't.

Before he could bring the knife down, the old man lashed out and hit him in the sternum. Tony fell to the ground winded, but he didn't give himself time to recover. He swept the man's feet out form under him, and Tony was on him in an instant.

Out of nowhere, a young man with his face covered rammed into Tony like a ton of bricks. He mentally cursed himself for not making sure the old man was alone. The young man pounded the back of Tony's head into the sidewalk and stars exploded in front of his eyes. The young man sat on top of him and put a knife to Tony's throat.

"Riff, stop!" the old man bellowed.

The young man, Riff, climbed off of Tony and helped him to stand up. He kept his knife close just in case the changed their minds. The old man creased down his collar and took off his fedora to reveal a handsome face with ocean blue eyes and short silver hair.

Tony stared at him in wonder. After many months of believing he was dead, Gibbs stood in front of him. Tony could've hugged him, but he knew he wouldn't approve. So he gave him a lopsided grin and said it was good to see him, even though it was a lie. It wasn't good; it was fantastic.

"Who is this stud?" Riff asked, gesturing to Tony.

"A close friend," Gibbs replied simply.

Gibbs walked over to Tony and he could see that the hunched back was a fake, but the limp was very real. Tony took note of all the changes in Gibbs. He had a pale scar running across his face and he seemed to have aged at least fifteen years. But he was still Gibbs.

"Do you belong to a group?" he asked.

Tony shook his head. "No, and I don't have a partner either."

"Then you're coming with us."

Tony had heard rumors murmured through closed doors that people were gathering and creating a small civilization. He hadn't believed it at first, but Gibbs seemed to know something about it. If he believed it, then so did Tony. He was just ecstatic to be with someone he knew.

Riff stepped forward. "Sir, with all due respect, we can't just pick some rat up off the streets. For all we know, he could be working for Justin and is just waiting for a chance to blow all out people up."

"He could be," Gibbs ventured. "But he's not."

"So it's true people are gathering?" Tony asked.

"Yes," Gibbs said. "We, Riff and I, are," he hesitated, looking for the right word, "Soldiers, in a sense."

Riff scoffed. "You are much more than a soldier."

Tony arched his eyebrow. "What does he mean?"

"Well, Mr. Leroy Jethro Gibbs is our leader."

Tony eyed Riff. He didn't like him, nor did he trust him. Gibbs seemed to, though, so Tony decided to tolerate him. Riff had uncovered his face. He had sandy blond hair and soft greenish-blue eyes. He looked trustworthy, but he didn't like Tony, so in return, Tony didn't like him.

"Leader of what?" Tony asked jokingly. "A resistance?"

"That's exactly what," Gibbs said. "We are going to take down Justin."

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><p><em>Yeah, I know...it's depressing. There's even a dead baby...which I protested against, by the way. And this is not going to be a deathfic! Sure, people will die, but not any main characters. Charlie would cry for days if she ever killed off a main character. But one thing that is definitely not depressing about this story is that Gibbs is wearing a fedora...that's awesome. Gibbs wears a fedora now. Fedoras are cool. Sorry, couldn't resist a chance to quote Doctor Who.<em>

_So...love this story so much that you wanna hug a random hobo? Hate it so much that you wanna kick a puppy? Tell me and Charlie in a review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello again! Since I don't have much to say for once, I'm just gonna let you read the chapter. Oh, I do wanna thank the people who reviewed last chapter...I'm glad to know this story makes ya'll wanna hug random hobos._

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><p>Tony kept an eye out for anyone who might try to jump his small group of three as Gibbs and Riff led him to their shelter. He couldn't help but stare at Gibbs's limp and wonder how he got it. How did he become the leader of a resistance? Well, that was easy enough to answer; Gibbs was a natural born leader.<p>

"You look like you have a question, DiNozzo," Gibbs remarked.

"How?"

"Are you referring to my limp or the fact that I'm alive?"

"Both." Tony hesitated. "Can I hear the whole story, from the beginning?"

"It's not a happy story," Gibbs warned.

_*Flashback*_

Gibbs's coffee tasted bitter. It reflected the month. A young man named Justin had taken the President hostage and the Secret Service had asked just about every government law enforcement agency to help free him. All the while, Justin threatened to bomb everyone working with the Secret Service. It brought back sad memories of Kate Todd for Gibbs and his team.

He watched Tony leave for lunch and idly wondered if he should stop his senior field agent and make him stay at NCIS, but he decided against it. He spared a last glance at Ziva and McGee as he boarded the elevator.

And then it happened.

Gibbs fell to the floor of the elevator as a bomb made contact with the NCIS building. The elevator began to fall and he braced himself for impact. When it hit bottom, he lost consciousness. When he regained it, everything was dark. He could feel blood trickling down his face.

"Help!" Gibbs called weakly.

Help. He hated the word and was always very reluctant to use it. Gibbs waited, calling out every once in a while. He was pinned beneath a large piece of metal and had another formed to his back.

After what seemed like years, but in reality was only two days, his plea for help was answered. He felt the rubble above him shift and he began calling. What was left of the elevator doors was forced open with a crowbar. Sunlight spilled into the small area and Gibbs had to close his eyes and let them adjust. He opened his eyes to find his savior to be Jimmy Palmer.

"Agent Gibbs," Jimmy breathed.

"You found Jethro?" Gibbs heard Ducky ask. "Is he alive?"

"Yeah," Jimmy called back. "But barely."

"Palmer?" Gibbs asked surprised.

"Agent Gibbs, it is important you tell me how you feel."

"Uncomfortable," he murmured, closing his eyes.

Jimmy began to panic. He took a small pocket knife and told Gibbs to tell him where it hurt. First he cut him on the arm and Gibbs proceeded to tell Jimmy his arm hurt. Then he cut him on the shoulder. Gibbs replied. Finally, he cut him on the leg, but Gibbs made no comment. Jimmy frantically forced the knife deeper, and the older man still said nothing.

"Agent Gibbs, can you feel that?"

"Are you doing anything?"

"Dr. Mallard," Jimmy yelled uneasily. "I need your assistance."

"What is it?"

Jimmy glanced at Gibbs. "Fractured spine and possible severed spinal cord."

Ducky swore under his breath and climbed over the ruins of the NCIS building to where Jimmy kneeled beside Gibbs. They couldn't Gibbs because of his back, but they couldn't just leave him where he was. Ducky cleaned up the cut on Gibbs's face and rocked back on his heels. He knew what was coming next.

"Tony, Ziva, and McGee?" Gibbs asked hoarsely.

"I'm sorry, Jethro," Ducky said sadly. "They're gone."

"And Abby?" he asked, tears threatening to spill over.

"She is alive and well, she is back at our shelter."

Gibbs grunted in response, then lost consciousness. When he awoke he was in a small room laying on the floor covered in blankets. A cup of water sat beside him. He reached out and took it as if he were afraid someone else would. Gibbs drank it greedily and threw the blankets off of himself to get up and search for some food.

But his legs wouldn't move.

Gibbs began to panic. What happened? Where was he? He began calling for help. After a few minutes, Abby ran in with an excited look on her face. She smoothed the blankets over him and whispered comforting words and he began to calm down. After another few minutes Ducky came in with a can of soup and instructed Gibbs to drink it, but he refused.

"Duck, what's going on?" he asked in a voice that resembled that of a scared little kid.

Ducky shifted from foot to foot. He couldn't stand the look on Gibbs's face. He had never seen the man so scared in all the time he'd known him. He didn't want to tell his friend that he was paralyzed from the waist down.

"The elevator," Gibbs whispered, almost in a daze.

Ducky hesitated. "Yes, Jethro, your spine was injured in the crash."

"I will walk again," Gibbs said with certainty.

_*End Flashback*_

Tony was having trouble swallowing everything that Gibbs was telling him. Obviously, Gibbs's spinal cord didn't have extensive injury, but he still had trouble walking. He couldn't believe what had happened. Least of all, he couldn't believe Ziva and McGee were dead.

"Boss, are they really-"

"Tony," Gibbs said sternly. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Sorry, boss," Tony mumbled.

"Don't apologize. It's a sign of weakness."

"You still go by those rules?"

"I've got no reason no to."

They walked in silence the rest of the way to their destination. Tony was alarmed when Riff and Gibbs walked into the subways. They had been flooded since the beginning of the Chaos. He followed anyway. He couldn't stand the thought of being alone again.

After they walked about a mile into the subways, a flickering light caught Tony's attention. A broken subway car, maybe? His ears picked up the sound of voices. Human voices. They sounded like the most beautiful of lullabies played on the most beautiful of instruments. There were voices of many.

A flicker of hope sparked in Tony. Maybe, just maybe, they could beat Justin.

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><p><em>Have I mentioned how much I really like this story? I seriously love it! Probably because it's kinda sorta like dystopian...and I love dystopian books. Like that's pretty much all I read anymore. Speaking of dystopian novels, I'm really excited for the Hunger Games movie...I saw a trailer for it and almost started crying. Sorry for rambling on about crap you probably don't care about...I tend to do that a lot. <em>

_So I'm gonna try to update this weekend sometime. I'm almost done typing chapter 3, but I obviously need Charlie's notebook to finish typing it. So...still love this story? Love it even more...so much so that you wanna go take another random hobo out to dinner? Really, truly despise it with a burning passion? Although I really don't get why you'd still be reading if you hated it...but whatever! Click that frickin' adorable little button and tell me and Charlie what you thought of the chapter!_


	3. Secret Meeting

_Okay, before I start, I wanna address an...issue. Well, that's part of it...I mostly wanna get my anger out over something. So about two days ago, there was a review on this story from someone who just complained about how unrealistic this story is. But the complaining isn't all that made me mad...this person called the story an epic fail and didn't even leave any sort of constructive criticism. So I replied back to them, being as nice as I could possibly be. And then they left another review saying they deleted the PM without having the decency to at least read it. Now, I believe everybody is entitled to their opinion and that's fine with me...the part that bothers me is that some people just have to be jerks about it. Sorry if I'm annoying you with my incessant ramblings, I know you probably don't care. And to the person who left the mean reviews (since I know you're most likely still reading this, even though you clearly hate it): Thank you for the extra review! Now please go get a life._

_Again, sorry for venting my anger out to all of you. I hope you all at least still like the story. It's not too unrealistic, is it? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Read on, my friends._

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><p>The people who lined the walls of the subways greeted Gibbs and Riff warmly as if they were heroes coming back from a long quest. Almost all of them glared at Tony as he walked past. He avoided their eyes and continued to follow Gibbs. After a while, Riff branched off from them.<p>

"Gibbs!" someone squealed.

A little boy, no older than five, ran up to Gibbs and hugged him around the knees. The boy had short golden hair and pale blue eyes. He wore a dirty green T-shirt, jeans, and a black sweatshirt.

"Hey, Michael," Gibbs said, picking the boy up. "Where's your mom?"

"My name is Mikey!" he said defensively. "Mommy is with Dr. Mallard and Miss Abby."

"Where's Palmer?"

Michael thought for a moment. "With Agent Fornell and Luna."

Gibbs put the boy down and Michael ran to play with Fornell's daughter Emily. Tony couldn't believe Fornell and Gibbs were on the same side. After another ten minutes of walking, the two stopped at a white sheet that hung from the ceiling. The voices of Ducky, Abby, and two other people could be heard. Gibbs told Tony to wait where he was and then went through the makeshift door.

"Jethro!" a very pregnant woman cried when she caught sight of Gibbs.

"Hey, Amy," Gibbs greeted.

She scowled. "Call me Amaryllis."

"I will," he replied. "If you call me Gibbs."

Abby ran up and pulled Gibbs into a tight hug. He patted her on the back and quietly greeted Ducky and Dr. Phil (no, not _that_ Dr. Phil). Dr. Phil was a quiet man with thinning blond hair and oversized glasses, but he was very nice.

"Did you find anything of use on your scouting?" Ducky asked.

"No," Gibbs said. "What I found is pretty useless."

"What is it?" Abby asked.

"Come on in," he called.

Tony ducked under the sheet and awkwardly grinned at them all. Abby's face lit up like a light bulb and Ducky clapped him on the back. Tony hugged them both. They were all nearly in tears when Tony caught sight of Amaryllis. She had wavy brown hair and bright green eyes. She looked to be at least seven months pregnant. She was beautiful, but Tony wasn't focused on that. She looked like his mother. She even had the same name.

"You must be the famous Tony DiNozzo," Amaryllis said warmly. "I've heard a lot about you."

"You must be Mikey's mom," he said with a smile.

She looked uncomfortable. "I would prefer if you called him Michael."

Ducky cleared his throat. "Jethro, the Undesirable has agreed to speak."

Gibbs nodded and left the room without another word, pulling Tony along with him. They walked down empty tunnels until they came to a gate. Beyond the gate was a dead end. In between was a man with brown hair and bloodshot brown eyes.

"Are you the leader of this group?" he asked as they approached.

"Yes," Gibbs replied.

"I'm confused," Tony said.

"There are two different groups of people," Gibbs explained. "Our group is fighting Justin, and his group is working for him."

"We are not!" The man snapped. "Our leader wants to meet with you to prove that. She wants to meet at the Washington Monument at the soonest time possible. You may bring one person for backup."

"Tell your leader I will be there," Gibbs said.

Gibbs took a key from his pocket and unlocked the gate. The second it was open, the man sprung out and took off running. Tony couldn't believe Gibbs let him go. What if he was a spy? Tony's gut wasn't acting up, but that didn't mean it wasn't a good idea.

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><p>Two hours later Gibbs and Tony stood under the Washington Monument. Gibbs wore his old man disguise and Tony wore a black ski mask. Both had a knife in their pocket. The wind chilled them to the bone, winter was coming. It wouldn't snow, that much was known. It hardly ever precipitated.<p>

After about twenty minutes, Gibbs became aware of a rustling sound coming from the bushes to his right. He gazed over to see a German Shepard walking their way, its head bowed like it was ready to attack at any moment. Most animals nowadays killed anything that moved. Gibbs pulled out his knife, but just as the dog was ready to pounce, someone called it.

"Jeth, down!" came a man's voice.

The dog relaxed and ran in the general direction of its owner's voice. A man and a woman came into their line of vision. Tony couldn't help but notice how beautiful the woman's body was. She had curves in all the right places. She wore a long tan coat that reached her ankles. She also held a bow in her hands and had a sheath of arrows slung over her back. Her face was concealed by a hood.

The man wore a dark brown coat, oversized jeans, and ugly tennis shoes. His collar was turned up and a fedora hat and sunglasses covered his face. It was never a good idea to show anyone their face on the outside.

"Tony," Gibbs whispered. "Do you remember what to do if this meeting goes wrong?"

Tony shrugged. "Scream and run?"

"Just like we practiced."

The man spoke up. "Which one of you is the leader?"

"I am," Gibbs said.

Gibbs stepped forward to shake the man's hand, but was stopped when the dog growled threateningly. The man called the dog off. Gibbs's ears picked up the strange sound of the dog's name. There was something different about it.

"What is Jeth short for?" he asked.

The man seemed surprised by his question. "Jethro."

"McGee?" Tony asked, taking off his mask.

"Tony?" Tim asked, doing the same.

The woman lowered her hood to reveal beautiful brown eyes and long dark hair. Ziva dropped her bow and ran into Tony's arms. He hugged her tight, not wanting to ever let go. He was a little disappointed when she pulled away to speak with Gibbs, who had abandoned his old man façade.

"Gibbs," McGee spoke gently. "We thought you were dead. You were in the elevator when the bomb hit."

"I thought you guys were dead too," Gibbs said. "The offices got the worst of it."

"Tony," Ziva breathed. "This is like a beam."

"Dream," he corrected.

It was like a dream. Like a sweet, sweet fantasy.

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><p><em>So to make up for the long authors note in the beginning, I'll try to make this short. And I'll try not to complain about how much I hate people anymore. And on a side note, Charlie has finished writing this story, and I just have to finish typing it up. So I'm gonna possibly post chapter 4 this weekend...maybe.<em>


	4. Sickness

_Okay, so I know none of you give a crap, but this is my first update from my brand new laptop! So that would explain any weird spelling mistakes, because this keyboard is really weird and I don't like it. So anyway, enjoy chapter 4!_

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><p>Tony looked out onto the crowd of people. They had all gathered at Gibbs's request to discuss the future of the civilization. Gibbs stood in front of a stack of cartons that served at a podium. Ziva, Tim, Tony, Ducky, Riff, Dr. Phil, and a young girl named Luna sat at his sides.<p>

Luna was about fifteen years old. She had silky black hair and eyes as silver as the moon for which she was named after. She was very brave and never failed to speak her mind. Those qualities had moved her high up on the list of important people.

A murmur of shock rippled through the crowd when they saw the three newcomers sitting at Gibbs's side. Ziva searched the crowd for familiar faces. A smile graced her lips when she saw Abby, Jimmy, and Fornell all smiling up at them.

Gibbs cleared his throat. "As you know, we have been sworn enemies with the other group of people we believed to have been working for Justin."

A murmur of agreement washed over the crowd.

"But we were wrong," Gibbs stated.

Everyone fell silent.

"The other group has the same goal as us. I have their leader, Ziva David, here to speak about putting out two groups together."

Ziva stood up and many people booed, but they were all shushed by a Gibbs glare. Many were angry because she was a woman, others because she was not American. Ziva stood tall, ignoring the murmurs of protest.

"My group isn't nearly as large as yours," she said. "But we will do everything in out power to help you. Our base is currently located in the ruins of the Smithsonian. We, Gibbs and I, would like our two groups to merge into one."

The people shook their heads. They did not agree with what Ziva was saying. What if it was a trap? Like a hurricane, people began blabbing their opinions. Abby pushed her way through the crowd and positioned herself behind the podium. Everyone quieted down, for everyone liked Abby.

Gibbs watched as Jimmy Palmer and Tobias Fornell split up and found areas in the crowd to stand in. Mob mentality. They were going to shout their opinions and let it lull over in the other people's heads.

"Okay," Abby said. "Shawn, what's your take on this?"

Shawn, a dark skinned man in his early forties, thought for a moment. It was clear he didn't agree with the idea of merging. Abby had picked him for one reason and one reason only; to start an argument.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Shawn said finally. "I mean, look at her, she's not even American!"

The corners of Ziva's mouth turned down. "I am an American citizen."

"But you weren't born here!" Shawn shot back.

Tony stood up from his spot, rage clearly written on his face. Shawn unconsciously took a step back. Tony was absolutely terrifying. He pointed a finger at Shawn, and the two locked eyes.

"That doesn't matter," Tony snarled. "She's willing to risk her life for our freedom. Not just ours, but every other person in the United States. We are in D.C., they aren't. We are the only people who can make a difference, so get on board or get out of the way."

A few people clapped. Shawn stepped down. Jimmy chose that moment to yell out that they would be greater in numbers if they merged. The people around him cheered. Fornell yelled that they would get more supplies if the groups joined forces. More people cheered. Gibbs took his place behind the podium and everyone hushed.

"It's settled then," he said. "The second group will move in at the soonest time possible."

People began to hoot and holler. Among the crowd was a twenty-one year old named Ivan. He had long blond hair and bloodshot blue eyes. He coughed violently and dropped to his knees, out of breath. The people around him screamed and backed away from him as if he were a horrible monster.

Luna could see what was happening. Ivan had the sickness. She jumped down from her spot and took out her knife. In one swift movement, she cut his throat and he dropped to the ground dead. Blood pooled around him. Luna's dark hair caressed her face as she looked up to meet Gibbs's eyes.

It was too late.

The sickness was highly contagious, but it died as soon as the person who carried it died. Unfortunately, Ivan hadn't been killed fast enough. People could already feel the sickness stirring inside of them. It started out as nothing more then butterflies in the stomach, but it slowly grew into something much worse.

The sickness could work in three different ways. It could either make the victim delusional, send them into a coma, or slowly shut down every organ in their body. If someone were to get one of the first two, they would have a slim chance of living. But if they were to get the third, their chance of living would be less than zero.

There were a select few who had an immunity to the sickness. They were the lucky ones. Gibbs looked out onto the crowd at the uneasy faces. He could easily tell who caught the sickness, because he was one of them. He sent a worried glance at McGee, who was hyperventilating. He could easily see Jimmy had also caught it.

Riff held his sobbing girlfriend Aurora in his arms. She had dark red hair and eyes the color of melted chocolate. She had caught the sickness. Riff ran his fingers through her hair and quietly told her she would be okay.

"I suppose we will have to hold off on joining our groups," Ziva said. "Agent McGee and I will remain here until the sickness passes."

"I don't feel so good," Tim mumbled.

Ducky stood up. "All immune please go back to your living quarters. People with the sickness, please stay here."

"Wait," Gibbs said. "I want all my soldiers, sick or healthy, in the west tunnels now."

Fornell and Jimmy made their way to Gibbs. They were two of many soldiers. The group was actually very organized. They had a total of 293 and a half people, the half being Amaryllis's baby. Out of the 293, 165 were soldiers, five were cooks, three were doctors, fifteen were cleaners, fifty-three were gatherers, and the other fifty-two were citizens.

Gibbs led Tony, Ziva, McGee, Jimmy, Fornell, Riff, and Luna to the west tunnels where the soldiers were waiting. They were all scared and were fidgeting all over the place. They quieted down when they saw Gibbs walk in. All eyes and ears were on him.

"If you are sick, raise your hand," Gibbs said.

Over half the hands in the crowd went up, including Jimmy and Tim. Gibbs was also sick. He couldn't stand to think he was going to lose so many people. He pushed the thought out of his head and tried to calm everyone down.

"Abby Scuito is working on a cure. Until it is found, we will carry on with our everyday lives."

Everyone trusted Gibbs. But instead of feeling better about the whole situation, they felt much worse. And with good reason.


	5. Kidnapped

Tony and Ziva sat in the medical wing in between two mattresses. On one, McGee lay still, breathing deeply. Amaryllis lay on the other. Both had fallen into a coma just days before. People had begun to drop dead or fall into a coma. They had only had a few cases of delusion.

Tony couldn't help but feel protective over Amaryllis. He didn't _love_ her in a huggy, kissy way, but he felt they same way towards her as he did to Tim and Kate. Almost as if they were his little siblings. He and Ziva had been taking care of Amaryllis's son Michael, who was immune like both of them, since his mother had fallen ill.

Tony didn't know how he felt about Ziva. She was beautiful in his eyes, but then again, she was beautiful in everyone's eyes. He felt protective of her, but he felt more passion for her then anyone should ever feel for their sister. Tony liked the way Ziva would never let anybody bring her down. He _still_ did not know exactly how he felt about Ziva.

His mind wandered to Gibbs. Gibbs was the father Tony always wanted. Sure, Gibbs smacked him around from time to time, but all kids needed a good smack every once in a while. Tony knew Gibbs would never intentionally hurt him, physically or mentally. His own father never hurt him, he was always too drunk to do any damage.

Gibbs walked into the medical wing with a young man named Josh. He was no older than twenty-five. He short blond hair, a fit body, pale grey eyes, and a handsome face. Tony felt Ziva stiffen beside him when she saw Josh. He flashed a smile at her and her heart fluttered under the handsome man's gaze.

All rational thought left Tony's mind. He needed to take Ziva's attention away from Josh. He gently picked up her hand and held it in his. She was surprised, but didn't pull away. Tony caught Gibbs's eyes and immediately dropped Ziva's hand. Gibbs was angry because rule number twelve was dangerously close to being broken. Tony was mad because he couldn't understand or control how he felt for Ziva.

"Tony, Ziva, you two are coming with me and Josh to look for food or anything useful."

"Josh and me," Tony corrected.

Gibbs glared, still angry at him. "DiNozzo, I'm not Ziver, you don't need to correct me."

Ziva smiled. "When will we be leaving?"

"Now," Josh said, still smiling at her.

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><p>Gibbs knew they had hit the jackpot. Josh had found a box stocked full of canned vegetables. Tony had already cracked open a can of peas and was sharing it with Ziva. Gibbs was about to ask for some when the world spun before his eyes. He leaned against the side of a building and slid to the ground.<p>

No one noticed Gibbs go down, so they kept walking. After a few minutes, Ziva noticed his absence and asked where he was. Panic flooded over Tony. He began to frantically call out Gibbs's name, but he was quickly shushed by Josh, so he wouldn't give away their position.

Josh, always the big shot, took the lead and told Tony to retrace their steps while he and Ziva moved on. Tony would have none of it. He didn't want Josh alone with Ziva. He voted that he and Ziva go back for Gibbs while Josh moved on. In the end, Ziva told them they were both acting like children, and she forced them to go look for Gibbs together while she took the food back to the subway.

Tony wasn't happy that he was stuck with Josh, but he sucked it up because Gibbs needed him. Little threads of fear sewed themselves into Tony's heart. What it Gibbs had fallen into a coma? He didn't even want to think about that, but the thoughts wouldn't leave him alone. If Gibbs had fallen into a coma, then he _would_ die.

Tony and Josh stopped when they saw Gibbs slumped against a wall and semi-conscious. But that was not what stopped them. A few men in clean black suits were gathered around him, each carried a gun. Guns were practically unheard of. The only people who had them were the people who worked under Justin. Just at that moment, one of the men turned around and saw them.

"Hands up!" he yelled, aiming his gun at them.

Josh made a move for his knife, but the man put several bullets in him before his hand reached his pocket. Tony watched as Josh slumped to the ground. Blood leaked from the wounds in his head and pooled on the ground beneath him.

His face wasn't pretty anymore.

Tony threw his hands up and one of the men tackled him to the ground. He forced his hands behind his back and handcuffed him. Tony watched as another man pulled Gibbs to his feet. Gibbs seemed out of it, very confused. Tony feared the sickness was taking over. Finally, everything fell into place for Gibbs. His eyes flicked from Josh's body to Tony's eyes, and he mouthed "Run."

The man who had hold of Tony didn't have a good grip, so he could've easily gotten away. He could have ran and got away with no bullets in him. But he couldn't leave Gibbs to die. So he stayed where he was. Gibbs's eyes were like lasers, burning holes in Tony for not obeying him. Eventually, Tony had to look away.

The men slapped a pair of handcuffs on Gibbs and marched the two ex-NCIS agents away. Tony gave a low growl when he felt one of the men press the barrel of his gun into the small of his back. The man laughed unhumorously, then nodded to the man leading Gibbs. The man smacked Gibbs across the back of his head with the butt of his gun. His step only faltered for a second. Then he turned to look at Tony, a silent understanding passing between them.

Tony rammed his shoulder into the man pointing a gun at him. The man hesitated, debating on whether or not to pull the trigger. That gave Tony enough time to knee him in the gut and cause him to double over and drop his gun. Tony swept his feet out from under him and kicked him in the face, breaking his nose. Tony quickly brought his hands to the ground, stepped over his cuffs, and took the man's gun.

He emptied a few rounds into him, then took aim at the two men Gibbs was struggling with. He pulled the trigger and received a small click in response, telling him the gun was empty. He threw it to the side and received a shock when a bullet grazed his side. The other men still had guns!

Tony charged forward, plowing into one of the men like a rhino on a rampage. The man fell backwards and his gun skidded away. He was out when Tony gave him a blow to the temple. Tony looked up just in time to see Gibbs snap the final man's neck.

The two were on their feet and running within seconds. Tony watched in wonder as Gibbs slipped his cuffs, breaking his thumb in the process. Tony tried to do the same, but his wouldn't budge. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a sound that made his blood run cold.

Growling. Dogs growling.

Tony whirled around to see three dogs closing in on them. A pitbull, a mutt, and a Rottweiler. The dogs weren't feral, they had self restraint. The two men heard someone bark an order and the mutt leaped towards Tony with its teeth bared. Tony closed his eyes and waited for the impact that never came. When he opened them, he saw Gibbs standing in front of him with blood dripping down his arm.

Gibbs had blocked the dog's path and the dog had sunk its teeth into his arm. Blood gushed out of it and onto the ground. He only allowed himself a moment to study the wound. A nice sized chunk had been ripped from his arm; it would take a while to heal. If he hadn't stepped in the way, Tony would be missing part of his face.

Gibbs grabbed Tony and ran, momentarily forgetting his injury. Tony was babbling on about the blood when he was suddenly jerked to a stop. He looked at Gibbs and for the first time ever, he saw fear etched on the older man's face. He followed his eyes and was shocked to see many men and women pointing guns at them.

"Surrender and come with us," a young woman yelled. "And we may let you live."

Gibbs and Tony both raised their hands in the air. All at once many people surrounded them. Both were forced to their knees and had their weapons taken away. Neither one tried anything for fear that the people would hurt the other.

Gibbs knew that Justin's army wouldn't kill them. Not yet, at least. They wanted information about those who rebelled against Justin. Information that neither Gibbs nor Tony would give. Gibbs knew they would try to torture it out of them, but in the end they would die with their mouths closed, both as heroes of America.

He felt something connect with his temple, then the world was gone.


	6. The White Asylum

_Hello! So I felt like actually typing an author note this chapter. So yeah, that means that I might possibly ramble on like an idiot about crap you don't care about. Anyway, on with the actual story..._

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><p>Tony groggily opened his eyes. Everything was blurry, but he could make out the still form of Gibbs lying next to him. He tried to lift his head to check himself for injuries, but it was too heavy. He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to clear them up to see where he was.<p>

After a few minutes, his vision cleared and he was stunned to see he was in the Lincoln Room. It looked just like it did in all the pictures he had seen, except the bed was missing. Tony grabbed a fistful of carpet and shakily pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Glad you're awake, Agent DiNozzo," came a familiar voice.

Tony's emerald green eyes met chocolate brown. "I suggest you get out of here, Vance. The Boss has got the sickness and it spreads like a wildfire."

Vance waved his comment off. "We have a cure. I see you're immune."

"Get to the point," Tony snapped.

Vance smiled and leaned back in his chair. Tony could see he was well-fed and well-kept. He looked exactly the same as he did the last time Tony saw him. Vance knocked on the wall behind him and winked at Tony. After a few moments, a man, who looked more like a teenage boy, walked in.

The man-boy was scrawny. He wore ugly horn-rimmed glasses, a blue Superman tee shirt and black jeans. He had ugly pea-green eyes and dark brown, almost black, hair. His face was acne-scarred, probably from trying to shave over the acne. He was the kind of nerd who would sit in the library reading Star Wars books while fantasizing about the cheerleaders.

His name was Justin Time. He was the murderer of many, the destroyer of life, and the downfall of American. He was a geek, but he was feared by many. Tony could see the insanity dancing in his eyes. He was one twisted son-of-a-biscuit. Tony unconsciously cringed under his gaze, earning a laugh from the younger man.

"This Italian coward was one of your agents, Leon?"

Vance nodded. "Sadly, he was one of my best."

Justin laughed. "He looks like he thinks he's a big shot."

"Oh, he does."

Tony could feel the anger bubbling up inside himself, like a volcano about to erupt. He glanced at Gibbs, who still hadn't moved. Tony silently yelled at himself for not checking to see if he was alive. Without being seen, Tony slowly reached for Gibbs's wrist and checked his pulse, which he found to be very rapid. He focused his attention back on Vance and Justin, who were still insulting him. Finally, he blew up.

"At least my name isn't Justin Time! Did your parents hate you or something?"

Justin clicked his tongue in disappointment, and then a dark chuckle rose out of his throat. The very sound chilled Tony to the bone. In one quick movement, Justin had picked Tony up off the floor and held him against the wall by his throat. He was strong for a nerd.

"Enough games" he said, releasing his grip on Tony and letting him slide to the ground. "Where is the colony of rebels housed?"

Tony scrunched up his eyebrows. "What?"

"The group of people you and Leroy Jethro Gibbs are leading to take me down," Justin explained impatiently.

"I don't know what you're talking about. The only people I'm in a group with is Gibbs and Josh, the guy you killed."

Vance spoke up. "What about Abby, Dr. Mallard, and Jimmy Palmer?"

"They were killed in the NCIS bombing." Tony said sadly.

"McGee?"

"He was shot down when guns were still around."

"What about Ziva?"

Tony hesitated. "We lost her about a week ago. The streets aren't safe for women anymore."

Justin pulled out a knife and crossed over to Gibbs. "You have lost many. What is one more?"

Tony watched in horror as Justin placed his knife at Gibbs's throat and pulled the blade across. When he was done, little droplets of blood trickled down his neck. Justin hadn't cut deep enough to seriously injure him. Gibbs's eyes snapped open, but they were confused and unfocused. Tony looked at Vance to find he had an uneasy expression on his face.

Justin stood up. He and Vance left the room without another word, leaving Tony alone with Gibbs. Tony checked him over and he seemed fine. Tony touched the back of his own head to find it caked with dried blood. Gibbs's eyes focused on Tony and a grim expression crossed his face.

"You're wrong."

"What?"

"You're wrong, Mike," Gibbs said.

Tony stiffened. The sickness was setting in. Gibbs thought he was Mike Franks. Tony wasn't sure if he should play along or slowly back away from Gibbs. Before he could decide, Gibbs had gotten up, grabbed him by his shoulders and began shaking him. Looks like he'd be playing along.

"I'm never wrong, Probie," Tony said awkwardly.

"Why did you save me?" Gibbs demanded.

"Uh…so you'd be alive?" he guessed.

"Maybe I wanted to die."

Tony was shocked into silence. Gibbs was the strongest person he knew. He couldn't believe that his hero would want to die. Could there have been an accident and Mike risked his life to save Gibbs and that was what he was angry about? Tony's gut twisted painfully. Somehow, he didn't think so.

"Gibbs, it's me, Tony. We're in the White House. You have the sickness." But his words fell to deaf ears.

"Did you stop to think that maybe I wanted to die, that maybe I wanted to kill myself?"

Tony couldn't believe Gibbs had said that. He tried to piece together everything he had been told. He didn't really see Gibbs as the suicidal type. Unless he had been suicidal after Shannon and Kelly's deaths. Tony tried to push the image of Gibbs with a gun to his head out of his mind, but it stuck like glue. Tony did the only thing he could think of. He slapped his mentor across the back of his head.

Gibbs's hazy eyes cleared a little and he looked at Tony in disbelief as if he couldn't believe he had hit him. Tears sprang in Gibbs's eyes and leaked onto his cheeks. Tony was taken aback, as he had never seen the older man cry. He sight almost made him want to cry.

"Tony?" Gibbs stuttered. "How?"

"How what?" Tony asked gently.

"How are you alive?" he asked tearfully. "He killed you."

"Who killed me?"

"Joe Henderson," Gibbs replied, flinching under Tony's gaze. "He killed all of you."

Tony understood immediately. Joe Henderson had been the last case they had worked before the Chaos started. Henderson had it out for Marines. He had first killed a young woman name Penney Diaz, who had taken a three week leave to visit her boyfriend in D.C. But then he moved onto bigger game. He had begun to kill male Marines in large groups. McGee had successfully tracked his cell phone to a warehouse in Baltimore when he had made a call to his elderly mother.

When the NCIS agents arrived, they found Henderson clutching a bomb. He explained to them he was angry at himself for what he had done and he believed he had to die to pay for the lives he took. He offered them a chance to leave before the bomb detonated, but his mind changed when he learned that Gibbs had been a Marine. Thinking quickly, Ziva had knocked Henderson out with a metal pipe and disarmed the bomb with five seconds to spare.

It had been close.

Tony placed his hands on Gibbs's shoulders and gave him a light shake. "I'm here, Gibbs. It's me, Tony. I'm alive."

"What about the others?" Gibbs sobbed.

Tony hesitated. He couldn't tell them they were also alive because he had told Vance they had died. Just then, the door swung open and Vance walked in and accused tony of being an imposter. Gibbs, still in a delusional state believed him. He hit Tony square in the face, breaking his nose. Then something really bad happened. Vance gave Gibbs a gun.

And so began the manhunt.

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><p><em>I wanna apologize for any weird spelling or grammar mistakes. I was on Skype while I was typing and proofreading it. So I might've gotten distracted and made a huge screw up. See, I'm already rambling about crap ya'll don't care about. Anyway, so I have no idea when I'm gonna update next. I'm almost done typing chapter 7, but I probably won't get to update this weekend because I'm going to see The Hunger Games tomorrow night! Yes, I know, I'm obsessed and have major issues. So I'm just gonna shut up now and spare you from reading too much of my weirdness at the moment.<em>


	7. A Cure

_I was planning on posting this yesterday because I didn't have school, but I ended up staying at my cousin's house. And we watched My Little Pony most of the day. Don't judge, it's a cool show and the ponies are really frickin' pretty. *insert awkward silence here* ...yeah, I apologize for my weirdness. Let's just get on with the story._

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><p>Ziva gently towel bathed Michael, who was happily playing with a dirty rubber duck. She ran her hands through his blond hair and hummed a Hebrew lullaby. He turned to look at her with a smile plastered on his face. Michael lightly hugged her around her neck and whispered in her ear.<p>

"Where are Tony and Agent Gibbs?" he asked.

"They will be back," Ziva replied, avoiding his question.

He nodded, accepting her answer. "How is Timmy Turner?"

Timmy Turner was the name Michael had given McGee. The two had grown close while talking about video games that no longer existed. McGee had woken up just hours before and he was faring well. He had survived the sickness. Amaryllis wasn't doing as well, she had yet to wake up.

"He is well," she said simply.

"What about Mommy and the baby?"

"They are fine as well," Ziva lied.

Ziva finished bathing him and encouraged him to go visit Abby while she tracked down Jimmy, Riff, and Fornell. Michael ran off, happy to have a chance to play with Abby. Ziva found Fornell putting his daughter to bed. Silently, she crept up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Jeez, David, you scared the sh…poop out of me," he said, minding his language around his daughter.

"Gibbs, Tony, and Joshua are missing," she stated bluntly.

"They must be around here somewhere," Fornell said, looking around as if they would suddenly appear.

"They are not," she said. "Grab your gear and wait at the east entrance while I rally a search party."

Ziva walked away without another word, towards the medical wing. She literally stumbled upon Riff and Aurora on the way. The poor girl wasn't going to live through the sickness as her body was shutting down. But Riff never gave up hope. Ziva quickly explained to him what was going on, then continued on her way.

When Ziva entered the medical wing, the smell of rotting corpses hit her like skunk spray. She pulled her shirt over her nose and tried not to look at the bodies that had yet to be buried. Jimmy was seated next to McGee, who was greedily eating a can of carrots. Jimmy had overcome the sickness within a week of catching it.

"Hi, Ziva!" McGee said happily. "Glad you came."

"Jimmy, I need to speak with you."

"As a doctor or a soldier?"

"A soldier," she quietly replied. "I'd prefer to speak with you in private."

McGee cleared his throat. "If it concerns soldiers, I would like to help."

"You are not healthy enough." Ziva snapped.

McGee gave her the best Gibbs glare he could muster. He was not going to be left out because of his health. He would do anything he could for his country. After a few minutes under his gaze, Ziva finally broke down and told him he could come. The here grabbed their gear and made their way to the east exit.

When they arrived, Riff, Fornell, and Luna, who was not invited but came anyway, were all waiting. Ziva quickly explained the situation to them all and they set out. They all agreed to stay together so they didn't lose anybody.

Ziva spared a lingering glance at the destroyed Lincoln Memorial. She knew they were dangerously close to the White House, but she didn't care. The only thing she cared about was finding Tony, Gibbs, and Josh. She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, causing Fornell to run into her.

"David, what the-" He stopped midsentence because his eyes found what caused Ziva to stop.

Josh lay sprawled and face down on the pavement, riddled with bullet holes. Dried blood stained the ground all around him as if it were paint on a drywall. Jimmy gently rolled him over to find part of his face blown off. He looked up to find more blood about twenty yards away.

"We've got a blood trail," he announced.

Before they had a chance to follow it, a man came running towards them, screaming for them to run. It took them a moment to realize the man was Tony. None of them ran because they were shocked that they had just stumbled upon Tony. They only began to run when they heard gunshots.

Tim, who was still recovering, stumbled and fell. Tony ran back to him and tried yanking him to his feet. The cold steel tip of a gun met the back of his head and he stiffened. Slowly, he stood up with his hands raised over his head and turned to face his attacker.

Gibbs's finger hovered over the trigger of the gun, daring Tony to try and run. Gibbs's normally brilliant eyes sparkled with madness. His brain didn't register that he was about to shoot the man who was like a son to him.

Before Gibbs could pull the trigger, McGee, who was still on the ground, swept Gibbs's legs out from under him. He hit the ground with a thud and Tony ripped the gun from his hand. McGee held Gibbs down and the others emerged from behind a ruined building. Gibbs's eyes bored right through them, but when he saw Jimmy, a relieved look washed over his face.

"Palmer," he stuttered, "I see them everywhere."

Tony was quick to explain. "He thinks Joe Henderson killed us."

Jimmy nodded. "Come on, Agent Gibbs, it's freezing out here. We will get some shelter."

McGee let him stand up and Gibbs trustingly followed him. Jimmy examined the wound on Gibbs's arm, which was still dripping blood. Then he set Tony's nose. Fornell watched as the bone snapped back into place. For some reason, Gibbs didn't believe he was real either.

"Hey, DiNutso," Fornell called. "What happened to your face?"

"Gibbs hit me," Tony growled through clenched teeth.

The rest of the walk home was silent. As they entered the subway, their ears picked up the rare sound of a helicopter slicing through the air. They all quickly hurried inside and closed the grate covering their entrance. They ran through the tunnels, warning everyone of what they heard.

Ducky was mildly surprised when the whole gang came running in. He didn't listen to what they were all screaming about. He quickly put a wet rag on Tony's nose and began to tend to Gibbs's arm. He cleaned it to the best of his ability and sewed it up.

Tony held the rag to his nose, which occasionally dripped blood. He couldn't believe Gibbs had hit him! He had to keep reminding himself that Gibbs wasn't himself. The Gibbs he knew wouldn't intentionally hurt him. Tony ached, not because of his nose, but because Gibbs was dying.

Gibbs sat on the edge of a cot examining his stitches and fingering a piece of paper in his pocket. The paper was important, he just couldn't remember why. His mind didn't process what it said anyway, so he let himself forget about it.

In the distance, he heard bombs go off.

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><p><em>I want to apologize for any typos in this chapter. I usually read them over again before I post them, but I was too lazy. Anyway, I'm in the process of typing chapter 9. So chapter 8 is ready to be posted, I just need to find time to do that. Oh, and nobody reviewed last chapter! That makes me sad. I like reviews. Reviews are cool. Okay, one more thing before I shut up and leave you alone, I promise! So me and Charlie both think that NCIS tonight is gonna suck. Reasons? First, it will have a lot of Vance in it, and nobody likes Vance because he's a jerk who probably kicks puppies in his free time. And...well, that's actually pretty much it. And while I'm on the subject of NCIS, who else thinks that Dr. Ryan has some ulterior motive for wanting to be with Gibbs? Me and Charlie think she's a Russian contract killer hired to kill Gibbs. And have any of you noticed that a lot of bad guys on TV are Russian? Or am I just crazy? Well, I am crazy, but...oh, just ignore me. I'm gonna shut up and go before this authors note turns into an essay.<em>


	8. Bethesda

_So I've had this chapter typed for like the last week, but I've been too lazy to post it. Sorry. Although I'm pretty sure the only reason I'm updating is because Star Trek: TNG isn't on for another half hour and I'm bored. Yes, I know I'm a nerd and you probably don't care. So on with the story..._

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><p>When Jimmy Palmer had been delusional, it had only last twenty-four hours, and everything was fine and dandy afterwards. However, when Brandon Buckham had been delusional it had lasted a week and then he had died. Gibbs was coming up on his seventh day.<p>

Gibbs stared at Amaryllis's still form lying on the cot next to his. Her belly was exceedingly swollen and if he looked close enough he could see the baby move. Amaryllis looked just like the pictures of Tony's mother and he couldn't figure out if she was a delusion or a real person.

He looked at the small red-headed girl who moved painfully slow around the room. Her name was Aurora and she was dying. He felt bad for her, but then again, a man named Riff had informed him that he was also dying.

Gibbs slipped a piece of paper out of his pocket and began to read it for the millionth time. The words on it didn't make sense to him, but they brought him comfort. He heard footsteps and quickly shoved the paper back in his pocket.

But it was too late.

"What was that, Agent Gibbs?" Dr. Phil asked.

"Nothing," Gibbs grumbled.

"Don't make me call in the big guns."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Don't even-"

"Dr. Mallard!" Dr. Phil yelled. "I require your assistance!"

Ducky came strolling in and his eyes fell on Gibbs and Dr. Phil. He should've known. After much persuasion, he got Gibbs to hand over the paper. Ducky quickly read the note and his eyes grew three times their normal size. He sent Jimmy to get Tony, and when the two arrived Gibbs pitched a fit because he didn't believe Tony was real.

"Jethro," Ducky said slowly, "Where did you get this?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Is it important?"

"It's the recipe for the cure to the sickness," Jimmy exclaimed.

"Tony, rally a group of soldiers, go to what's left of Bethesda Naval Hospital, and get the ingredients we need," Ducky instructed.

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><p>Ziva and Luna stood outside the hospital as lookouts while Tony, Riff, McGee, and Jimmy ransacked the place. The hospital was half blown away by bombs and was very unstable. They feared for the lives of their friends.<p>

"Miss David!" someone shouted.

In the blink of an eye, Ziva had her bow off her back and aimed it at a teenage boy with blond hair. She slowly lowered her weapon and ran to the boy, enveloping him in a hug and stroking his hair as he cried into her shoulder.

"They dropped bombs on our base!" he sobbed. "I looked for survivors, but I only found a few."

"Shhhh, calm down, Win," Ziva murmured.

A few more people came running towards them and Ziva smiled sadly. Most of her group had been killed, but the few who remained would be a big help in taking down Justin. Ziva told Luna to stay put while she took the survivors to the subway.

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><p>They had broken into two different groups to cover more ground. Riff and Tony shuffled through a ruined room with their shirts over their noses. Both avoided looking at the rotting corpse in the corner of the room. It could no longer be distinguished as male or female.<p>

"Hey, Riff," Tony said hesitantly.

"Hmmm?"

"Why do you hate me?"

Riff stopped what he was doing. "I assumed it was you who hated me."

Tony hesitated. "I disliked you until I saw how much Gibbs trusted you."

"That's how I feel."

"So no hard feelings?"

"Nope, but I'm jealous of you."

"For what?"

"Ziva," Riff said, smiling. "Of course I have Aurora, but Ziva is still smoking."

Tony felt his face heat up and turn red. He turned away so Riff wouldn't see. He had a feeling that they would be good friends. He didn't want to discuss the Ziva situation because he still wasn't sure where he stood on that topic.

"I hope we get the cure back in time," Tony murmured.

"Me too," Riff agreed.

They continued searching in silence. The building groaned as the wind blew, threatening to push it over. The building seemed to mourn the loss of America. Tony did not like the idea of moving around because he was afraid the floor would give way.

A loud grinding sound echoed through the room. Tony mournfully looked up to see a large chunk of plaster dangling above his head. At least the floor didn't give out. Riff calmly told Tony not to move at all. Tony nodded slowly as Riff took small steps toward the door. He was going to open it and have Tony run out.

But then the door swung open. McGee and Jimmy came stomping in with gleeful expressions on their faces. The plaster began to fall and Tony just stared at it in horror as it came for him. The only thing he had time to do was cover his head and scream in terror.

The next thing Tony became aware of was that his cheek was pressed against the floor and that his back hurt. Something large was on top of him, but it wasn't white and hard like the plaster. It was pink and squishy. Tony immediately pushed Riff off of himself and the two began to laugh.

There was a large hole in the floor from where the chunk of ceiling had fallen through. Luckily, Riff had pushed Tony out of the way. McGee stuttered an apology and Jimmy announced that they found the remaining ingredients to the cure. Tony and Riff stood up and dusted themselves off.

Now they had to deliver the cure.

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><p>Ducky smiled fondly when he poked a needle in Gibbs's vein and his eyes cleared up. He too smiled when he received word that his army had grown. Amaryllis's eyes fluttered open and she looked around, confused. Ziva quickly filled her in on what had happened and assured her that her baby was okay.<p>

Gibbs's gut told him that the long awaited battle against Justin was coming. He rallied his troops and set a date.

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><p><em>So once again, I was too lazy to proofread this before posting it. And I will apologize again for any weird typos. Okay, so two more chapters left...And I will update as soon as possible. But of course, ya'll know I'm lazy...so I doubt it will be within the next few days. Oh, and why aren't you people reviewing? This only got one review last chapter! Review or I will hunt you down and shoot you with a phaser! ...Nah, I have no idea how to track you down. Also, I don't have a phaser. And I'm pretty sure that real, working ones don't exist yet. Yeah, I should stop watching Star Trek so much...on second thought, that's never gonna happen. <em>

_So I'll see ya'll next chapter! Ya know, whenever I decide to post it..._


	9. The Beginning of the End

_Sorry for the delay, guys. I wasn't able to get ahold of Charlie's notebook for a few days. But the good news is that I have it now, and I finished typing the whole rest of the story! And that's gonna sound much less impressive when I tell you that there's only one, short, two-page long chapter left after this one. Also, I should be able to post the last chapter tomorrow._

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><p>Tony and McGee awkwardly sat outside of the medical wing. Amaryllis had gone into labor thirteen hours earlier. Michael had been staying with Abby since then. Gibbs, Ducky, Jimmy, Ziva, and Dr. Phil were all helping to deliver the baby.<p>

Tony expected screaming like on television, but Amaryllis hardly made a peep. After a few more minutes, Tony and McGee heard crying and they knew the baby had been born. Ziva poked her head out of the curtain and told them to come in.

When they walked in, Amaryllis held the tiny baby in her trembling arms. As soon as she saw Tony, she passed the child onto him. The child had little brown hairs poking out of its soft head and it looked up at him with blurry eyes. A few minutes later, Michael and Abby arrived.

"It's a girl," Ducky announced.

"What's her name?" Abby squealed, unable to contain her excitement.

Amaryllis though for a moment. "Toni."

"You don't have to do that." Tony blushed.

"Yeah," Gibbs said. "Why would you want to name your kid after _him_?"

Amaryllis giggled, taking Toni back in her arms. "I didn't name her after him, I named her after Toni Baisel."

Tony blushed and Amaryllis again giggled, telling him she was joking. Gibbs congratulated the new mother and Michael climbed up his leg and began to whine because he had wanted a brother. Gibbs ruffled the boy's hair and sat him down.

"Agent Gibbs," Michael said, "Are you guys going to fight He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?"

"His name is Justin Time," McGee laughed. "He's not Voldemort, you can say his name."

Gibbs ignored Tim. "We are going to attack him tonight."

Michael began to cry. "Be careful."

At the sight of Michael crying, Abby began to bawl also. She clung to McGee and mumbled incoherent words into his chest. He smoothed her hair back and kissed the top of her head. Slowly, he detached himself from her and composed himself. He nodded to Gibbs and the rest of the agents and Jimmy followed him.

They would follow him anywhere, even to Hell and back.

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><p>The night was cold. No stars shone in the sky. The rebel army looked at the White House with a mixture of fear and excitement. That night they were going to take down Justin. A man by the name of Alan threw a makeshift grappling hook onto the roof and began to climb, followed by the rest of the army.<p>

Once on the roof, Gibbs used an old screwdriver to open two vents. Ziva and McGee prepared to take half the army down one. Gibbs told them to cut down anyone in their path. They nodded and then they were gone. Gibbs, Tony, and Riff led their half of the army down the other.

They found themselves in a long and wide hallway. Already, they could hear gunshots and screaming coming from the other side of the building. Tony sent up a silent prayer for McGee and Ziva's safe return. He also prayed for his group and Jimmy, Fornell, and Luna, who were standing watch outside.

Justin's guards came barreling down the hallway. They didn't even take the time to aim before they began shooting. The rebels had the advantage of superior numbers, but the guards had the advantage of guns. Tony hoped that numbers would win.

Tony stuck his knife into a guard's gut and let him fall to the ground. He turned around just in time to see Riff get blown away by a guard with dark brown hair and black eyes. Riff was dead before he hit the ground. All rational thinking left Tony. He seized the guard by the throat and shoved him against a wall.

"Why did you kill him?" Tony demanded.

"Justin ordered us to kill as many of you as we could!" the boy cried.

"What's your name?"

"Jordan," he stuttered.

"Where is Justin?"

"Down the hall, to the left, through the double doors," Jordan muttered.

"Any last words?" Tony asked.

"I don't want to die!"

"Then you should have never been born."

Tony slit Jordan's throat and let him slip to the ground. Tony kneeled down beside Riff and closed his unseeing eyes. He snatched up Jordan's gun and threw it to Gibbs, giving him directions to Justin. Gibbs figured that Justin had sent out all his guards to fight, so he sent his half of the army to help the other half while he and Tony went after Justin.

Gibbs nudged open the double doors and he and Tony rushed in to be greeted by Vance, Justin, and three guards. All of which were armed. Gibbs lowered his gun, but kept a hand on his knife.

"Welcome back," Justin said. "Did you enjoy your stay so much you came for another visit?"

"Shut up," Gibbs growled. "Give up now or die."

"Why should I give up? You're on the short end of the stick."

Gibbs raised his gun and two of the guards aimed at him while the third aimed at Tony. Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw Gibbs's head nod slightly. He took that as his cue. Tony pulled back his arm and let his knife fly. It caught the third guard square in the throat.

Tony heard a series of gunshots and saw the two other guards go down. He pumped his fist in the air and yelled something about Gibbs being a good shot. His celebration was cut short when he saw the wicked smile plastered on Justin's face. In that moment he knew something was terribly wrong.

Tony whirled around to see Gibbs collapse while holding his chest, a blossom of red blooming over his shirt. Tony rushed to his side, unintentionally turning his back to Justin. He tore off his jacket and pressed it to Gibbs's bleeding chest. He sent up another prayer for his boss.

"Tony," Gibbs breathed, "Distract him."

Tony didn't ask questions. He just did what he was told. "Justin, why are you doing this?"

Justin laughed. "My parents thought I was nothing more than a comic book junkie. I wanted to prove them wrong."

Tony scoffed. "It's not our fault you weren't hugged enough as a kid."

Justin twitched. Tony was making fun of him, just like the kids in high school. He had made sure he bombed his old school first. He did not like people picking on him. He imagined Tony as Ryan Dotts, the quarterback who had constantly antagonized him.

Tony could feel the blood flow slow down, but not stop completely. Gibbs was barely clinging to consciousness. Then Tony felt the white hot pain of a bullet ripping through his back.

* * *

><p><em>Every time Charlie lets me name an OC, she kills them off. She killed off Spencer in The Road to Freedom, and she just killed off Riff. I liked Riff...I named him after one of my favorite characters from West Side Story. Although I did think it was awesome how Tony killed Riff's killer, just like in West Side Story. Okay, now for some completely shameless plugging for Charlie's next story! So the next story will be called The Point of No Return. It involves Gibbs being held captive. And there will also be some Tiva and McAbby, but it's not the main point of the story. I'm not sure when I'm gonna start posting it, I obviously have to type it first. Hopefully, the first chapter will be up next week. But that pretty much depends on how lazy I am over Easter break. I'm really excited for this story, I think it's gonna be awesome. And hopefully ya'll will read it.<em>

_Well, I'll hopefully be back here, posting the last chapter, tomorrow. See ya then!_


	10. A Hidden Hero

_So I actually took time out of my all-night Star Trek marathon to post this. And yes, I seriously spent all night watching Star Trek. It's actually like 7 in the morning and I'm still watching it. And that is why I love the internet. Anyway, enjoy the last chapter!_

* * *

><p>Tony clutched his stomach where the bullet had exited. He somehow managed to crawl over to a wall and press his back against it to staunch the blood flow. Gibbs moaned from his spot on the floor, his eyes silently asking if Tony was okay. Tony nodded. His eyes made contact with Justin's and he put all his hatred and anger into his glare.<p>

"Say goodbye to your boss, Anthony DiNozzo," Justin said, pointing his gun at Gibbs.

Tony shut his eyes tight when he heard the gunshot. He didn't want to see Gibbs's blank eyes staring at him, asking him why he died. Tony just wanted to die. He wanted it to be over, but the kill shot never came. Tony slowly opened his eyes and was shocked by what he saw.

Justin lay face down on the ground with a hole in the back of his head. Vance kneeled down and rolled him over. He checked for a pulse and smiled. Justin was dead. Gibbs turned his head to look at Vance. Pain flickered in his eyes but a small smile lit up his face.

"You followed through, Leon," Gibbs rasped.

"I would never turn my back on my country," Vance replied. "I thought you would know I was still sticking to the plan when I slipped the recipe for the cure in your pocket."

Gibbs coughed. "I was a little out of it then."

Tony suddenly understood. Gibbs and Vance had planned this from the beginning. Vance would become Justin's right hand man only to kill him in the end. Tony should've known, but he hadn't. Vance pressed on Gibbs's wound and the older man passed out.

Tony did the same.

* * *

><p>Tony woke up to tears on his face. No, not tears. Rain. It was raining! Tony looked around to see he was on a makeshift stretcher being carried by Ziva and McGee. Ducky was bent over him, telling him he and Gibbs would both be okay. Tony looked over to see several more stretchers being carried and he saw Gibbs being carried by Jimmy and Fornell.<p>

Tony looked up at the crying sky and laughed. He just knew things would get better.

"What's so funny, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"One good thing came from all this nonsense."

"What's that?"

"Justin Bieber is probably dead."

* * *

><p><em>THE END!<em>

_I honestly never thought about the fact that Justin Bieber would most likely be dead...but it still makes me smile. I know, I know, I have issues. _

_Well, I'm gonna get back to watching Star Trek now. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Ya'll are awesome! And I also hope you check out Charlie's new story when I get around to posting it. Live long and prosper, guys. (Don't judge my nerdiness...is nerdiness even a word? Well, I don't care, it is now...) See ya!_


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